THE JOURNAL OF THE 



WILD BIRD INVESTIGATION SOCIETY. 



POND FREQUENTING BIRDS AS SEED CARRIERS. 

 liv E. ADRIAN WOODRUFFE-PEACOCK, F.L.S., F.G.S., F.E.S. 



1 1 l{l\ I-', arc i\\(i l)ii(ls 

 which arc conimnn- 

 1\' fdiiiul in isolaieii 

 piiiuls, ihe Mallard 

 1)1 Wild Duck and 

 ihr W'aici- - Hen. 

 The f (I 1 1 () w i n l; 

 notes refer lo these 

 two species onI\-, 

 except where 1 

 menlion others. By ponds I mean artificially 

 made watering places for stock, excliidini;- 

 from this paper moorland flashes and lakelets, 

 a> well as all trifling waters of ihe acid -^oils 

 of the true CaJluna-Erica-PU'ris area. 



Pond.'' iif human constrticlion ;iie of se\er;i! 

 ly|)es. 



1. S|)ring ponds ha\e a dilch fnim ihrm 

 down an incline to carry away Mirpliis water. 



2. Sipe ponds h;i\e no true springs, and 

 \ ft ihey receive a slock of water by soak'age 

 throiigli the tipper or worm-made soil on 

 cla\s, or through the whole mass ot soil in 

 lighter rock formations. 



■;. Ditch ponds have water cariicd to iliem 

 l)\- small open drains cut in the \alleys sur- 

 rounding them. 



4. i'i|5e ponds are fairl\- common in ilie 

 wide flat areas of Lincolnshire. 'i"lie\ ;ire n<i| 

 eas\" to distinguish at first, bin are alwa\s 

 fed from more or less permaneni dilches oi- 

 liecks through undergrouiul pipes nn the 

 drain-.s\ >tem. 



5. C"la\-pit ]3onds explain themselves, but 

 in most i';i>es there is a dilch from lliem lo 

 carrv away their over-much waters, but in 

 some cases these carry water lo them. 



J.W.H 1 S., Nov., l';i9. vol. i. No. 1. 



b. Dew ponds are usuall\- the most i.solated 

 ot all. riie\ are made with impervious bot- 

 loniN, aiul usually lie in hollows and drain a 

 given area suri'ounding them. 



These kinds of ponds must be carefully 

 distinguished, for i am onl\- going lo write 

 ot ihe Duck and W'ater-IIen carried species 

 ot ihe |:)urelv isolaled w.alers ; so 1 onl\- con- 

 sidei- here (i) spring, (2) sipe, and (6) dew- 

 |;>onds. 



h. \eii from these much has to be excluded 

 tidin our \-iew, if we want to thoroughh' 

 understand what bird-carriage is, in contra- 

 distinction to mammal- or animal-carriage 

 generalb . l'.\er\ihing in fact that pasture or 

 meadow, oi- the dilches found in them can 

 supply b\ animal- and mammal-carriage has 

 to be put aside. .\s for example (a) Canla- 

 iiiiiii' pralcnsis. Jtincus s^luucu.s and I rlicii 

 Iroiii the grass surface, and ('') Rdntinciihts 

 rcf^eiis, Rddiciilii nasliirliuiu antl Scrcpliii- 

 lariti (iquiilicii from the ditches. The seeds of 

 these ami other species I sli;ill disregard, as 

 all are e\cr being carrii d on the feet of stock- 

 when wet or miKld\'. 



'fliese arc all the species left, taking a fair 

 average of one hundred isolaled ponds on any 

 class of non-acid soils, .lfi;nislis paluslris in 

 28; this species perhaps ought lo be excluded, 

 but I lia|i|)cn to k'liow that it generall\- comes 

 from a distance. Alisiua pluntaa^o-aquaticLi in 

 2() ; a ivjiical duck'-carried species. AUipc- 

 ciinis i;ciiiciil(ilns in 20. ApiiiDi hitiiuhiluui 

 on gravelK and sandy soils in i. .1. n<>d\- 

 lliirinn in 4 spring ponds, but only 1 in the 

 same number without springs. CalUlrichc 

 ,v/(('oii//(\ in 2S- Ciircx aciililnruiis in 1. 



